by Lynda Hurst
“Ah, so the countess and Faith did have communications?”
“As far as I know, that letter was the only one Faith ever received from her mother. The late earl hadn’t allowed any letters from his wife reach his own children. Now, please enlighten me why this is so important to you?”
Benjamin shrugged then gave a sheepish grin. “Well, if you must have me say it directly, I intend to properly court your ward, dear cousin. And if scandal is still attached to the Revelstoke name, I should apprise myself of all the details to better defend the lady against the gossipmongers. How’s that for gallantry?” Devlin harrumphed, mostly under his breath, but said nothing until Hugo had swept in and announced a visitor had come to see the duke on business, and Benjamin promptly took his leave.
Devlin informed Hugo that he’d be just a moment to receive his visitor to which Hugo replied he would place him in his office when he was ready. There was no sense in trying to return to his earlier thoughts on Benjamin’s confessions, but Devlin couldn’t help the sharp spike of jealousy that arose from his cousin’s words. Here, he was trying to be noble in allowing Faith her day in the sun amongst the London set but felt he was being punished for his good deed, watching other men fawn over her. If he wasn’t careful, he just might forget about his good intentions where Faith was concerned and end up hiding her away from the slavering wolves of London society.
***
In the drawing room, Faith and Mary sat to a midday meal, complete with bread, slices of ham, cheese, and fruit. Lady Margaret tended to avoid the two young ladies during that time of day by taking her own luncheon in her room. Her absence was fine by Faith as there would be no chance of feeling her dagger-like stare while trying to consume her own meal. With only each other to enjoy each other’s company, the two ladies struck up a conversation concerning their observations of the past week.
“How did you find Lord Merlynne, Faith? He cut a dashing figure in that riding outfit yesterday,” Mary noted.
“Hm. He can’t have been all that dashing if he couldn’t spit out more than enough words to string a full sentence. It’s difficult to have a conversation with someone who didn’t seem to be a willing participant. In addition, I didn’t rightly feel comfortable having him sit there and stare at me without a peep out of him.”
Mary laughed at her recollection. “Well, they can’t all be sparkling founts of wit and conversation, now, can they? He was at least nice to look at.”
“Hmph. That seemed to be all that he had to recommend him. What about you, Mary? That Baron whatsis-name couldn’t keep his eyes off of you either!”
“You mean, Baron Whitfield? Jackson and I knew him and his family as children, but I was surprised to learn he’s new to his title. His father was a happy soul with kind eyes, and I was sorry to hear of his passing just last year. It has been some time since we saw each other last and it was another surprise to see he has grown into a fine young man.”
“A fine enough young man for you to marry, perhaps?” Faith teased her friend.
“Oh, stop! The last time I had seen him, he was still chasing me about with a frog in each hand, threatening to stuff them in my bed when I slept. Mind you, I probably deserved it for the dreadful pranks I used to pull on him. Then we moved to the country, met you, and I hadn’t met with him again until yesterday.”
“But he seems to fancy you, now that you’ve outgrown those childish ways.”
“That remains to be seen. He did mention he will be at the Haversham’s ball tonight, the same one we’re attending.”
Faith sighed. The ball was very much on her mind as it was the one function everyone in the Prestonridge house would be attending, including Devlin. Knowing Devlin took great pains to avoid her in the past week, it hurt a little to have him so distant when all she wanted was to be with him. The season could hang for what little she cared of it, but it would be worth it if she could just have Devlin to herself, even for a little while. It was virtually impossible for her to think of anything else where Devlin was concerned, even when she spent her mornings subtly flirting with her gentleman callers and her evenings thwarting handsy nobles. It was distracting enough that she hadn’t given much thought to her mother’s sketchbook clues at all.
Knowing her friend’s mind had shifted gears, Mary asked, “Have you made much progress with your mother’s sketchbook? I know we’ve been busy of late, but I wondered if there had been new developments since then.”
“No, unfortunately. I’ve been poring over her drawings over and over, and nothing seems to signify. Although I admit, I can’t help staring at the one of myself with the doll she had given me. I’ve traced the lines over and over with my finger so I could feel as if I was with her when she drew it—” Faith had stopped abruptly.
Sensing the change in her friend’s tone, Mary asked, concerned, “What is it?”
Without answering, Faith raced out of the room, speeding towards her room. She called over her shoulder, “I’ll be right back!” Mary shook her head, bewildered at what had gotten into her friend. She loved Faith, but there were times she couldn’t understand the direction her mind took.
In no time flat, Faith arrived back with the sketchbook in hand. Eyes shining brightly with barely-contained excitement, she reached Mary’s side and whispered, “I think I’ve got it, Mary. After all this time, the clue was right under my nose, I just hadn’t seen it right away.”
Confused, Mary said, “Seen what?”
Faith flipped the book open to the page with the drawing of her as a child holding her china doll, showing Mary what she meant. Pointing to a spot on the doll’s dress, Faith exclaimed, “Right there!”
Mary could only say, “I’m still not following. What’s right there?”
“Look closer, Mary. The pattern of my doll’s dress is all horizontal stripes. But see here between each of the lines? I’ve played with that doll so often I would know if there was an aberration on its dress or any of its features. I thought Mother made a mistake in her recollection of what the doll’s dress looked like and included a different pattern onto the dress.”
Mary squinted to take a better look. The doll in the picture did have horizontal stripes, but the artist had included what looked like stylized t’s in block lettering between each line. “Do you mean this cross-like pattern?” Mary asked.
Vibrating with excitement, Faith squealed, “Yes! You see it, too! I believe those crosses may represent the church relic my mother had mentioned in her letter. They’re crucifixes!”
Mary’s eyes widened at the possibility. “Do you think your mother hid that relic of a crucifix in your doll?”
“It’s quite possible. That doll was half my height when I first received it. It would certainly be tall enough to hide one.”
“And where is the doll now? I know you hadn’t packed it in your trunk for London.”
“It’s in my room at Atwell Cottage. After tonight’s ball, I will inform Devlin we’ll be leaving for home as soon as we can make the travel arrangements.”
Jackson and Benjamin had arrived as Faith uttered those last few words, and headed straight for the sideboard still loaded with food. Benjamin, however, commented mischievously, while piling his plate high, “Travel arrangements? Are you planning on a journey without your guardian knowing?”
Jackson seated himself next to Faith and balanced his full plate on his lap. With a warning tone in his voice, he said, “His Grace will not like the sound of that. You’d be leaving in the middle of the season at its busiest.”
“I know,” Faith acknowledged. “But in this case, I think Devlin will understand if I explain the situation to him.”
Benjamin frowned. “Why the sudden rush? It can’t wait until the end of the season?”
Choosing her words carefully, Faith confessed, “It has to do with my mother. I think I may be able to retrace her steps before she had disappeared.” She deliberately left out any mention of the Revelstoke legacy as it was something she had shared onl
y with two other people in that room.
“You don’t say,” Benjamin said, mildly interested. “And what has led you to the conclusion that you should leave town to do so?”
From the corner of her eye, Faith noticed that Jackson and Mary had exchanged a look she wasn’t able to interpret, but replied, “My mother’s belongings led me to that conclusion. And that’s all I can disclose for now. I won’t know much more until I can revisit Revelstoke Place.”
The twins seemed to visibly relax when Benjamin remained silent and didn’t press Faith for further information. Before Faith could give either of them a questioning look, Mary directed the conversation towards that night’s big event. “Have you heard? The parties responsible for the scandal of last season will both be present at tonight’s ball.”
Faith hadn’t known of the situation and excluded herself from the rest of the conversation shared between the three others. While they chatted, Faith’s mind wandered back to Benjamin’s sudden interest in her and his odd question. Flitting a glance back at him, he seemed to sense her gaze on him and gave her a sweet smile while still remaining a part of the conversation around him. She must have been mistaken, but when he asked her what led her to believe she should leave town, she thought she detected a queer gleam in his eye. No trace of that look remained when he smiled back at her just then, so she dismissed her earlier thought as her imagination playing tricks on her.
18
It was one thing to hear about what a major crush entails, and quite another to experience it all together. The Havershams seemed to have invited all of London’s crème de la crème within its ballroom, as there was not much room to spare to keep one’s hands to one’s sides.
As Faith’s first major ball of the season, she came prepared with the loveliest gown she had ever worn, let alone owned. The modiste certainly knew what she was about when she designed the dress with Faith’s coloring in mind. The pale turquoise satin offset her skin’s fair coloring and her flaming red hair to their best advantage while the empire-style cut played up her figure’s best features.
She was perfectly confident walking out the door of her room wearing it, but once she neared the stairs, her nerves crept up on her. So much of her skin was on display, and if Devlin were to see her in this dress, it was more than likely he’d have a fit of apoplexy at the sight of her. However, Devlin exceeded her expectations and did nothing. Her heart fell when he took one look at her descending the stairs, and looked just as quickly away, making no eye contact with her whatsoever. Compliments abounded from Hamish, Benjamin, and Jackson, of course, but not a peep was heard from Devlin. Hamish chided his ducal nephew with a stern look, but said nothing and instead bade everyone a good time as he was staying behind to nurse his cold.
Faith hung back as everyone piled into the coaches, waiting to see which one would still have room for her. The first coach was already full and on its way down the drive, leaving the second coach waiting and available. Before the footman could assist her into the coach’s enclosed interior, a strong, gloved hand thrust forth in front of her and yanked her by the hand unceremoniously inside.
The footman had already raised the folding stair and signaled the driver to move along, but Faith hadn’t had the time to properly find her seat and fell headlong into someone’s lap. “Excuse me,” she said automatically by way of apology, only to discover on looking up that she was speaking to Devlin. She quickly scrambled off of him to place herself in the seat opposite him, but he firmly grabbed hold of her to remain where she was. On him.
Staring down at her with what looked like tiny flames dancing in his eyes, he finally spoke. “How do you expect me to let you walk through the Haversham’s ballroom doors wearing that dress? If I am duly distracted by it, I don’t see the rest of the unattached males in that room will fare any better.”
Faith warmed to hear his words and inwardly exulted when he pulled her closer to him in an embrace. Almost crushing her to him, Devlin spoke against her hair, “I don’t know that I can last until the end of the season, Faith. With you in my home and in my thoughts, it’s impossible for me to try to avoid you for as long as I have.”
“Then stop avoiding me, Devlin,” she whispered. “I’m here, and I’ve never wanted anyone else. Only you. Since I was a little girl.” Her confession surprised him. After the sins he committed against her family, he didn’t think to consider that Faith had nurtured tender feelings for him all these years.
“Faith, please understand that I only wanted you to have everything you deserve.” He pulled away to look her in the eye. “Can you understand that I needed you to have some semblance of normalcy? Like a debt I owed you for tearing your family apart. If it weren’t for me, maybe your mother would have come back to claim you and Ethan. If I had—” Faith shushed him with a finger to his lips.
“No, Devlin. I will not have you dwell with what could have been. I very much believe that if it were not for the past, I would not be here with you, right now, in this moment.” And it might have been very forward of Faith, but without any more thought, she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his.
Devlin accepted her kiss and shut his eyes tight against the emotions welling up inside him. Through her kiss, he felt her forgiveness, her acceptance, and most of all, her love. She hadn’t said it in so many words, but he knew it to be true. As innocent as she was, he couldn’t allow the kiss to go further. Otherwise, he’d be crushing the satin of her dress beyond redemption in an attempt to get closer. He pulled away first, caressed the softness of her cheek, her jaw with one hand, and said, “As much as I would love to continue, we are both dressed for a ball, and I can’t have you looking rumpled. The matrons and gossips would have a field day!”
Faith sighed and reluctantly agreed. Moving to the seat opposite him, she smoothed out her hair and dress, and asked, “Is everything in place?”
Devlin replied, “You, my dear, look perfect. I suddenly feel bad for those poor men to have to see you and sweat for the wanting of you.”
“Oh, dear, that’s not what I want at all.”
“In that dress, it’s more than likely.”
“Well, we’ve arrived, and I’m not sure I want to step outside this coach.”
“That’s too bad since the Haversham footmen have already spotted us, and it wouldn’t do for the coach to leave without its passengers leaving. There will be talk as they will recognize my crest.”
Resignedly, Faith said, “All right. But after the ball, I must speak with you about a very important matter.”
“Oh? Regarding what, exactly?”
“I believe I may have solved my mother’s first clue.” The door to the coach had opened, and the footman had unfolded the stair for them to descend. “We’ll discuss this at a later time,” she said and was handed down from the coach. Left with such an intriguing remark, Devlin could not help feeling irritated that she chose only now to tell him such a revelation. Accustomed as he was to people quickly falling in line and obeying his orders, he found it was almost unnatural to have the role reversed. Nevertheless, he would have to wait until later to hear what information Faith would disclose.
It was hard for Devlin to keep an eye on Faith and who she was with while trying to appear absorbed in conversation with several of his companions from his days at Eton. While the topic of the discussion itself was one where he would normally be a willing participant, he was clearly distracted, and it didn’t take long for his friends to catch on. “All right, my friend,” chided his friend closest to him, Lord Masterton. “Who is it that has you looking past our ears all night? And don’t deny it, we can tell you’re not fully engaged in the conversation.”
“That bad?” Devlin asked, wincing. “I apologize. I believe my future duchess is currently waltzing with my cousin over there, and I’m ensuring he keeps his hands firmly where they should belong.” This was the first time, to himself and to others, that he admitted aloud his intentions for the future. And if he cou
ld have Faith by his side as his duchess, the rest of the world could hang, as it was suddenly clear to him what mattered the most to him.
His conversation with Faith in the coach opened his eyes to what was truly important. All these years he thought he had to make restitution for his actions against the Revelstokes, for the part he played in breaking up the only family Faith had ever known. His prime focus where Faith was concerned was to see she was provided the creature comforts afforded the nobility, but he ignored what Faith was trying to tell him all along. That what she wanted was truly that simple and not at all that hard to provide. She required only him and his love. And he was sure that he was more than capable of offering her all the love he had to give.